Sin Tu Cariño

Panamanian cuisine by Chef Dani

Sin Tu Cariño is a love song to community care, and for Dani Solis, this sentiment perfectly captures her approach to cooking and the recipes that have been passed down to her from the generations that came before her.

Growing up in a Panamanian-Mexican family, Dani’s earliest memories in the kitchen were with her grandmother and her family, making hand-ground Panamanian tortillas, by the end of which everyone’s arms were sore from taking their turn grinding corn through the molino. The masa, however, was unimaginably fluffy and delicious, with the signature golden-orange hue of corn in Panama.

At home, Dani grew up on campesino food, the working class foods of rural Panama. Signature dishes include tamales prepared with care, which involve hand-grinding masa, prepared with over 17 ingredients and skillfully packaged in hoja de platano and tied with butcher’s twine; fritura – a collection of fried foods including spiced beef empanadas, hojaldas (fry bread) with eggs and sausages, almojábanos (corn-cheese fritters in their signature S Shape), carimañolas; and refreshing sweets and drinks from the fruits of Central America like cashew fruit, guava, guayaba and nance (sour cherry). 

Developing her recipes for Sin Tu Cariño has been a kind of home-coming for Dani. Growing up with US diet-culture that stigmatized fried foods and carbs, she had a complicated relationship with these heritage foods. In recent years Dani has returned to the foods and recipes of her family, in recognition of the how the food of her family nourish, sustains and tells a unique story of her lineage.

Dani looks forward to celebrating the unique flavors of homestyle Panamanian cuisine through Sin Tu Cariño, and introducing the Bay Area to the flavors of Panama.

Follow and Support Dani:

• Instagram: @sin_tu_carino